Forging and Testing the Heart's Mettle in the Ozark Highlands

Wisdom: Rumi on the Rocks

Coffee? Toast? Kisses? How to transition from slumber’s sweetness to everyday responsibilities, preserving the wisdom and certainties of Self while activating the personality’s readiness and skills?

On inspiration just after the onset of summer I opted for reading aloud each morning from Coleman Barks’ “A Year with Rumi”. I began in earnest July 1, settling into a chair on the back deck, book in hand. Absorbing the morning cool, I started to speak into the forest, hoping I could harmonize with or at least not disturb Her morning melodies.

” . . .Dawn comes; blindness drains away. Each day is eternity. Do not avoid your suffering. Plunge it into the Nile . . . .”

My inspiration on transitions must have been mistaken. After reading such enticements, why would I want to pull on my collared shirt, clean jeans, and work shoes? I only wanted to sit and reach deeper, to sink into uninterrupted contemplation and heart dreaming.

I encountered the same on July 2 and 3 and 4. I considered giving up the project entirely. But somewhere in the week of July 11, a change occurred. Instead of sitting on the back deck in a chair, I sought the coolness of a stone overlooking the front garden.

On this rock, against the earth, the poetry lifted yet grounded and prepared me. Sensual symbols accompanied by wise verse called me to remember the Heart’s values, to engage the risk and bliss of small sacrifices for the sake of healing. Small gifts to give moment by moment in the everyday world.

5 thoughts on “Wisdom: Rumi on the Rocks”

Thank you for reading, Mary. As for small sacrifices, did it bring anything in particular to mind for you? I am meaning those choices and actions that bring a little more sacredness, a little more connection into relationships or circumstances. For example, not reacting in a potentially stressful conversation, but instead responding with clarity and compassion.